The Long Goodbye

From now on, though, fans of the Pioneer Press will have to satiate their thirst for fiercely independent and local journalism through the mail. The Pioneer Press will still publish stories of regional interest in its subscription-only paper, but there won't be a separate Basin edition anymore like the one you're reading now - made available for the last year for free and distributed by the thousands throughout the Basin. It's really a matter of simple economics, said Pioneer Press publisher Daniel Webster, and not because we aren't dedicated to the interests of the folks here in the Basin.

And look for us on the Internet, where we'll be beefing up our presence there producing stories of regional interest, including interactive features that are sure to make any technophile salivate.

Speaking of the Internet, the web has been under the gun lately from big companies who hate the notion that the small guy can set up shop on the net and, with a proper site, look as big as they can. The concept is called Net Neutrality and proponents of neutrality argue that there shouldn't be additional costs outside of the basic set up costs now needed to run a website. Opponents, on the other hand, have been lobbying Congress and the Federal Communications Commission to force the small guy to pay huge sums to put up a website.

 

In the end, opponents of neutrality would like to shut down the present-day Internet altogether. There's too much information out there and that information threatens the power elite - big companies, politicians who want to operate hidden in the shadows. The future of a worldwide web without neutrality is hinted at in China - the host of this year's Olympic Games. Beijing had been blocking a number of sites including that of Amnesty International. They recently stopped blocking that site, but many remain inaccessible, bringing more unwanted bad publicity for Games organizers and the Chinese government. Call it what you will, China is still a Communist and Totalitarian regime that should make the stomachs of every American Patriot turn.